


The down side of living on the road

by laurathedemigod



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Arguing, Gen, Hurt Sam, Teenchester, Tired John, Young Dean Winchester, Young Sam Winchester, fighting brothers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-13
Updated: 2017-03-13
Packaged: 2018-10-04 07:14:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10271168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laurathedemigod/pseuds/laurathedemigod
Summary: It's not easy to be John Winchester when you've been stuck in your car with your fighting sons for an entire day. This story has been written in John's pov. because I think people are going too hard on him and need to give him a chance.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! Just a heads up; my first language is not English, so I'm sorry if you find gramma errors in there...  
> I don't think a lot of people have realized how hard it must have been for John to raise is kids alone with mosters lying around every corner. So in this story, I've tried to show it. Hope you'll enjoy it!!

Age: Dean is 17, and Sam is 13

John was on the road, sitting in the impala and had what would soon be a severe headache. The car was holding still, stuck in traffic, and John wondered if the line was caused by an accident, and if so, how long ahead it was. His boys where in the back, and it wasn't unclear that they were bored to death. They were getting restless and the unused energy made them irritable. Soon they began nagging each other and after hours of arguments and sour comments, John could really use a beer. Or 5.  
It was really one of those days where John really missed Mary. Mary never lost her temper and she could always make the kids shut up without a single complaint. She always knew how to cheer the family up, and right now, John needed that more than anything.  
"Dean! Stop poking me I'm trying to concentrate!"  
"Then stop making those weird clicking noises. I can't hear the music!"  
"Yes you can."  
"Dad, turn up the music!"  
"No! Dad, turn it down, or I won't be able to read!"  
Hours. They had been like that for hours. John's brain was on the edge of melting and he knew that if they didn't find a motel soon, they'd all kill each other. John was too exhausted to make them shut up so he went with shutting them out and begged that they would stop fighting.  
"Dad I'm hungry can we stop at the next gas station." Before John had time to reply his youngest son and end what might become another stupid argument, Dean answered sourly  
"Don't be stupid, you know dad can't afford it at the moment. Besides, we still have mac&cheese leftovers." Sam groaned.  
"I hate mac&cheese! Why can't we have something else?" Dean rolled his eyes.  
"Don't be such a princess pipsqueak, at least we have food." Sam sulked and bitterly mumbled "don't call me that," before returning to his book.  
Silence. Finally. John sighed comfortable at the peace, and when Dean began falling asleep, he smiled satisfied. The boys couldn't possibly fight when they were asleep. But again, he shouldn't have cheered too early.  
"Dean stop snoring, I'm trying to sleep! Dean!" There was no reaction from the older boy so Sam let out an irritated growl. Then- Smack! Dean stopped snoring at once and looked up confused and angry.  
"The hell Sam?! I was sleeping!"  
"Stop snoring! You're not the only one trying to sleep!"  
"I wasn't that loud!"  
"Are you kidding me?! I could feel the seats vibrate!"  
"They always do asshat, it's a car!"  
"Dad, tell Dean to shut up so I can sleep!"  
"That wouldn't be necessary if you hadn't woken me up in the first place." John's head was hurting and he couldn't take more of this.  
"Boys." Though his voice was tired, it was also a warning and Sam and Dean both stopped talking. John sighed tiredly.  
From the backseat of the car, he could hear Dean whisper a silent  
"Bitch." And Sam replying with a silent  
"Jerk." And John knew they were having a silent fight on the backseat.

Finally after what felt like eternity, a decent looking motel came into sight and John Winchester pulled off the road. His two boys sat with their heads turned from each other and looked out of their windows.  
"Finally!" Dean exclaimed with a sigh "I thought I was going to die in here." Sam snorted.  
"I thought you loved the car."  
"She's not the one I want to keep distance from, you are." Sam laughed bitterly.  
"Well good luck with that. If the money is as tight as you say, we'll probably have to share the bed." Suddenly Dean looked all tired.  
"Oh great."  
"You shouldn't complain, I'm the one who have to bear with your farting."  
"I don't fart!"  
"Uh yeah, you do. In your sleep."  
"Well, at least I don't... pee in my sleep!" Sam looked confused at his brother.  
"I don't pee myself! At least not since I was three years old!"  
John sighed and left the car without a word. Outside, the air was chill but fresh, and if it wasn't because John was about to fall asleep from exhaustion, he would have taken a walk.  
The old woman at the motel counter looked sympathetic at the Winchester who apparently looked much worse than he'd expected.  
"Tough day, huh?" She asked in a nice voice. John laughed dryly.  
"Yes. That would be a nice way to put it." The old lady chuckled and went through all the procedures.  
"Hope you have a good night of sleep then." She finished and gave John his key. John smiled shortly and took the key.  
"Thanks." Then he left.  
When he was about 5 feet from the car, he heard the voices. Still arguing. This was gonna be a very long night, and John feared he wouldn't get a good night of sleep after all. He knocked on the car window to show his sons it was about time to get out and help him get their stuff into their room.  
Sam and Dean each began to carry bags out of the car and John noticed his youngest was struggling with the big bag containing their hunting gear.  
"Dean, take that bag for Sam. It's too heavy for him." Sam looked at his dad with a hurt expression.  
"It's not! I can carry it!" John sighed knowing that his youngest wanted to prove his strength more than for his own good.  
"Sam, give it to your brother. You'll hurt your back." Sam sulked but finally gave the bag to Dean who with slightly less struggles managed to get it inside.  
Before the boys had time to start yelling at each other, John cleared his throat.  
"Alright, Dean, Sam, I'm gonna take a shower and when I get out, I want to see food at the table and doors and windows salted."  
John picked up a few items from his duffel bag and went to the tiny bathroom. The room was cold and a slightly moldy and damp smell lay to it. But they'd had worse, and he wasn't complaining.  
If John was to be honest, he was tired of moving all of the time. He was tired of always being on the run from the local police, CPS or whatever monster that might be lying around the corner. All he wanted was to protect his boys and make them happy, but the older he got, the more he realized that it was hard, if not impossible, to do both. On days like this one, he felt almost ready to give up or cry to Mary and tell her that he'd failed as being a father. But he couldn't. The family was all he got, and he was going to protect it with all he had.  
The water turned cold after 5 minutes even though the lady at the counter had told him it would last for 30. John hadn't expected any more though and just sighed tiredly. As John stepped out of the shower, he heard Sam's sour voice through the bathroom door.  
"Why do I have to set the table? I'm salting the windows."  
"'Cause I'm making dinner dumbass. Besides, it's much harder to make dinner than salt the door." Sounded Deans reply.  
"It's not! It's just dumping a smelly substance into a pot and heating it up!"  
"Hey! Don't call my food smelly, it's delicious!"  
"Yeah right, as delicious as your dirty panties!" John sighed and felt how his patience was about to run up. They had been like this the entire day, and it was beginning to drive him crazy. For once, he just wanted some peace and quiet.  
When John walked into the kitchen, all cleaned up, the two boys were sitting silently at the table with sulking faces. The pot with mac&cheese was on the worn table and the steam rising from it showed that it had just been taken off the stove.  
"Good." John commented and placed himself at the table. "Let’s eat." Dean eagerly dug into his food and ate it with big appetite while Sam only picked at his and made a grimace when he hesitantly tasted it.  
"So when does school start?" Sam asked John just to say something. John shrugged and didn't have an honest answer. Right now his biggest priority was to save the people getting killed in this town.  
"I'll see if I have time to get you registered tomorrow." He just simply answered because he knew Sam would object otherwise. At that, Dean looked up with a displeased expression and a mouth filled with mac&cheese and said something that sounded like "bu we ju came hea." Sam sent him a disgusted face  
"Nasty, close your mouth." The older boy rolled his eyes and made a big number out of showing Sam the half-eaten contents in his mouth. Sam snorted and looked away.  
"Sam's right" John said while glancing at his brother. "You've missed too much school these past months. You both have some catching up to do, and I won't tolerate any jerking around." That last comment was pointed at Dean and Sam snickered.  
"I bet the girls in town are happy for that." Dean looked disgusted at his little brother, but John was sure he saw some disappointment too.  
"Shut up would ya? The chicks worship me, unlike your geeky ass."  
"At least know the difference between an analytical essay and an argumentative one." Dean looked offended.  
"I know that!? The analytical is where you analyze and the argumentative essay is where you argue."  
"Very good Dean, now try writing one." Dean was about to open his mouth but John knew he had to stop them before they went too far.  
"Boys." He said in his tired and slightly dangerous tone, and both of his sons looked apologetic at him.  
Then.  
Silence.  
Then.  
"Don't you think you've picked enough at that food?" John sighed at Dean's complain and buried is head in his hands. So close. Dean continued. "I'm beginning to think you're abusing my delicious mac&cheese on purpose." Sam snorted.  
"Delicious? It tastes like crap!" Sam pushed his plate away to prove his point and John watched Deans temper rise.  
"Thought you said you were hungry? Or is this not good enough for your spoiled ass?" That remark hit Sam hard, and he raised his voice a little.  
"I'm not being spoiled, I'm being rational. The food is five days old and smells like it's twice as old."  
"Well, it's all we have, so go ahead and trash it, but don't come complaining later because you didn't get enough to eat." Sam snorted and refused to look at Dean. Then, as he didn't claim the plate with the untouched mac&cheese, Dean decided to clean it for him.  
"You know, this is why you always get picked on in school. If you don't start eating like a real man soon, you'll never become one." Sam looked up at his brother with a hurt expression, and John knew his oldest had gone too far.  
"Dean, apologize to your broth-" before he could finish the sentence, Sam was on his feet and walked strait for the door. Then he went out and slammed it loudly. 

They didn't say much that evening. Dean knew he had crossed the line and seemed sorry about it. Sam was gone most of the time, and when he returned several hours later, he refused to look at either his brother or his dad. When the time reached eleven, John told his boys to go to bed because he needed their help with research in the morning, and then Sam and Dean went to brush their teeth without another word.

Right before falling asleep on the lousy couch, John heard Dean whisper from the king sized bed he was sharing with his brother.  
"Sam?" Silence for a while. Then  
"Sam? You awake?" If the younger boy was, he didn't answer, but he must have been because Dean continued.  
"Man, I'm sorry about what I said earlier, I didn't mean what I said." Sam was silent for a little while longer, then John heard him move.  
"You know," Dean continued, "you're twice a man than those babies you go to school with, and we both know you can knock them all out in your sleep." Sam snorted but John knew he had accepted Dean’s apology. Dean knew it to, and John could almost feel how the oldest son's faced lighted up.  
"That doesn't mean that you're more a man than me though, because that'll never happen Samantha." Dean finished and John heard Sam slap him.  
"You're jerk." Was Sam's reply but John was sure he was smirking.  
John smiled and was awake for a while, thinking that maybe he had failed at taking care of his boys, but at least, they would never fail at taking care of each other.


End file.
